Black
by yugi001
Summary: While coming back from a solo mission, Naruto discovers a scroll that will change his life drastically. Rated T 'cuz of some violence later on.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except the plot. (And Black)

Chapter 1: Black Night

Naruto was on his way back from delivering a scroll to Kanon, the leader of Amegakure. He had enjoyed his visit- the villagers being friendly, and Kanon giving him a few tips to help with his techniques. He kind f missed Amegakure, but was eager to return to Konoha.

So, while walking along the path, he decided to rest a bit since he was ahead of schedule. He veered off the path and headed towards a large tree.

"Man, this must be an old tree," Naruto said to himself. It was in fact, a very large tree. Its roots spread out all around, it towered above many of the trees, and its branches were long, intertwining with ither branches.

Naruto sait himself between two large roots. He gazed around before putting his hands behind his head and leaning against the tree. 'Its so peaceful here...' Naruto thought to himself before he fell asleep.

When Naruto woke up, he noticed that it was much darker outside ant the forest was quiet. He became alert as he stood up.

Naruto was about to head back towards the trail when a glowing light cauhgt his attention. He stared as it came out of the tree. 'That's impossible.' He thought to himself. 'Uless it was sealed in the tree...' Naruto watched as the object came out of the tree. He slowly walked towards it. He grabbed the sealed item, and the light began to fade, soon disappearing altogether.

When the light did disappear, Naruto noticed it was a scroll. He slowly opened the scroll and observed what was inside. It looked similar to the one he had.

But as he kept on staring at t, he began to lose consciousness. Soon, everything was dark.

********

When Naruto came back to his senses, he wa in the hallway where Kyuu was. 'Why am I here?' He wondered to himself. He was about to go ask Kyuu what this was about when he felt another presence that wasn't his own or Kyuu's.

He turned to face who it was. It was a boy, abbout his age. His skin was plae, his hair long and black, gong to his shoulders, and golden eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked the boy.

"I am Nagatsu Kei. Also referred to as...Black" The boy replied.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, still suspicious.

"I'm here because you picked up the scroll." The boy stated.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "The scroll?? He asked. "What do you know about the scroll?"

"I was sealed within the scroll." Kei said in a monotonous tone. Naruto blinked. "The villagers in my village belieed I was too 'dangerous' so they sealed me within this scroll, which was sealed within the tree. The tree is over a hundred years old, and I was selaed when it was first planted."

Naruto looked at the boy. Though his expression was blank, Naruto could see the pain and betrayal in the boy's eyes.

"Well, we're just going to have to find you a way out, aren't we?" Naruto said to Kei, grinning. Kei looked at Naruto a bit shocked. But soon, a small smile cracked onto his face.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, by the way," Naruto said to Kei. "Nice to meet you." Kei nodded his head. "Let's go see Kyuu, then. I bet he'll know what to do." Naruto started walking down the hallway.

"Naruto, who's Kyuu?" Kei asked.

"Ah, Kyuu's the nine-tailed fox." Narutp explained. He saw Kei's eyes grow wider. He chuckled. "Don't worry, Kyuu's great once you get to know him." Kei nodded, but he still looked uncertain.

When they arried at Kyuu's cage, Naruto had managed to convince Kei that Kyuu was good, not bad. "Oi, Kyuu!" Naruto called. "Are you in there?"

There was a low chuckle. "Of course I'm in here kit; I can't leave, remeber?" Naruto just smiled.

"This is Nagatsu Kei." He said, pulling Kei forward. Kyuu studied Kei.

"Hmm," Kyuu said. "So this was the cause of disturbance a while back. He's why you're here, isn't he?"

Naruto nodded. "He was sealed in the scroll, and I unsealed him. But now he's stuck in my mind. Do you know what to do, Kyuu?" He asked Kyuu.

"As of right now, I don't know." Kyuu replied. "But, one thing you're going to have to do on a regular basis is let him out."

Kei and Naruto were both confused. "What do you mean by that, Kyuu?" Naruto asked.

"Kei has an enormous amount of chakra. If you don't let it out occasionally, its going to tear your insides to shreds." Kyuu explained. Naruto paled a bit.

"Oh," Naruto said. "Do you know how to do that, then? I mean, let him out every now and then?" He asked Kyuu.

Kyuu nodded. "Yes, I do. But he would have to agree with it." Kyuu looked towards Kei.

"I'm fine with it," Kei answered.

Kyuu nodded. "Very well, here's how you do it." Kyuu switched to his human form. He replayed the hand-signs for Naruto and Kei.

"Try it out now," Kyuu instructed. "You will both need time to get used to this arrnagement." The two nodded. "I'll guide you from your mind, Kit." Kyuu said to Naruto, who nodded his agreement.

Naruto opened his eyes. 'Are you ready Kit?' Kyuu asked. Naruto mentally nodded. 'Good, now do the handsigns.' Naruto did the handsigns, and he felt Kei take over.

Once the transfer was complete, Kei contacted Naruto and Kyuu. 'The transformation was successful.'

Naruto grinned. 'This is awesome!' Kyuu chuckled.

'Alright, while you get used to using the body, we must come up with a way to let you be a part of Konoha.' Kyuu stated. Kei started towards the path, and was soon back on it, heading for Konoha.

'I think I may have an idea.' Naruto said to Kyuu. Kyuu nodded for Naruto to continue. 'Well, I figured that he could be mysterious. He would leave a letter for Granny Tsunade on her desk, along with a flute.'

'A flute?' Kei asked. 'How does a flute work with this?'

'You have good hearing, don't you?' Naruto asked Kei. Kei nodded. 'Well, if Granny Tsunade needs a spare ninja, she can play a melody on the flute. And, when you hear it, we can change. That way, you'll be a part of Konoha.' Naruto exlpained.

'Not a bad idea kit,' Kyuu said approvingly. 'I didn't think you had it in you.' Naruto frowned, adn Kei and Kyuu chuckled.

'But I agree with the plan,' Kei said. 'I believe it would work out. We just need to obtain a flute.'

'I think I have one somewhere in my room,' Naruto said.

'Good, this'll work out well then,' Kyuu said. 'But for now, you msut switch back; we're about to reach the gates of the village.'

'Right.' Naruto and Kei agreed. Kei stopped and did the hand signs. Naruto felt himself transforming back into his own body. When it was over, he continued on to the village, chatting happily with Kei and Kyuu.

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What did you think? I hope you liked it. Please review! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

As Naruto entered Konoha, he smiled at the two jounin at the gate, who smiled back. He then headed towards the Hokage's office to report.

Walking through the town, he could hear Kei and Kyuu talking about a jutsu that Kyuu had seen over the years. 'I see what you mean, Kyuu, but that doesn't explain how it works.' Kei said, and Naruto could hear him frowing.

'Its simple enough,' Kyuu explained, going through the steps again. Naruto could tell tat his patience was starting to wear thin.

He chuckled silently to himself as he entered the Hokage Tower. As he approached the door to her office, he saw Shikamaru, Choji and Ino walking out.

"Oh, Naruto," Shikamaru greeted. "Back from your mission, I see."

"Yeah, just got back now," Naruto replied, grinning. The four did small talk before Naruto entered the Hokage's office to report.

"So you're back, Naruto," She said.

"Hai, Tsunade baachan." Naruto replied.

"Everythin went as it should?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Kanon sends his regards."

"Excellent. Take a few days rest." Tsunade said.

"Hai." Naruto replied. And as he turned around, he could feel her staring at him. He turned back around. "Is something the matter, Tsunade baachan?"

Tsunade looked at him intently. There was something... off. But she couldn't figure out it was. She shook her head. "No, you're dismissed."

Naruto looked at her confused, but left anyway. Outside the office, he sighed inwarldy. 'Did she figure out about Kei?' He wondered. There was always a chance that she did. He would have to be more careful around her. He didn't want Kei to be found out.

Naruto, no wanting to take any more chances with being found out, quickly shinshined to his apartment. Upon entering, he locked the door behind him. He put his belongings on the kitchen table and stretched. If felt good to be home.

He went to his kitchen and started making his instant ramen. He had planned, that after eatin his ramen, he would go take a bath and relax for a while. He'd listen to Kei and Kyuu talk, finding it interesting to listen to them.

Finishing his ramen, he headed towards the bath. Naruto had already filled it with hot water. He let out a sigh of contempt as he lowered himself into the bath. He tuned out everything around him and listened to Kei and Kyuu. He chuckled; they were still talking about the same jutsu. He was surprised Kyuu had this amount of patience.

'But Kyuu,' Kei said, scratching his head. 'How does this jutsu exist?' Naruto laughed, and Kyuu growled.

'What's the jutsu?' Naruto asked, intervening before Kyuu would rip Kei's head off.

'This us about an elemental jutsu.' Kyuu explained

'Ahh,' Naruto said, understanding the situation better. 'I get it now. Because he was sealed at a young age over a hundred years ago, he wouldn't know about the discoveries made. That's why he doesn't understand, Kyuu.' Naruto explained.

Kyuu nodded his understanding. 'I can understand that.' He said. Then he sighed. 'But teaching him will be painful.'

Naruto laughed. 'It shouldn't be that bad, Kyuu. Kei should pick up on it once he learns about it, right Kei?' Naruto asked the said person, who nodded in agreement.

'Yes. I have always been a quick learner.' Kei replied. Naruto joined in the conversation that began as Kyuu explained to Kei what elemental jutsus were.

Just as he was about to put something in, he felt a great chakra wave coming from the village. He became alert.

'We have some unexpected visitors, apparently.' Naruto stated to the two. 'This would be a great time to get Kei introduced to the village, wouldn't it, Kyuu?' Naruto asked.

'I suppose it is,' Kyuu said. 'Are you ready, Kits?'

Naruto nodded. Kei did so as well. 'Yosh, let's go!' Naruto exclaimed, doing the hand seals for the transforming jutsu.

Kei slowly took form, his golden eyes bright. 'Alright, transformation complete.' Kei confirmd.

'Good,' Naruto replied. 'Now, let's get you ready quickly.' Naruto directed Kei through his apartment, lending him clothes. 'There's a mask on the bed,' Naruto stated. 'Put it on for now; that way they won't know your identity just yet. Unless you want it to be revealed?' He asked.

Kei shook his head. 'Not yet, at any rate.' He walked over to the bed and put on the mask. The mask was white, but had a black swirl that covered the right eye.

'Alrihgt, we're ready to go. You know what to do, right?' Naruto asked, to which Kei nodded.

They were soon at the place where Naruto had felt the chakra. It was a good thing, too; the villagers were distraught, and there was a shimobi on the middle, smiling wickedly.

'Probably a nuke-nin,' Naruto told Kei. 'Alright, take him out, Kei. This should be easy for you, right?' Naruto asked.

Kei nodded. 'Yes, it should be, since there's only one.' And with that, Kei went to confront the nuke-nin.

Appearing in front of him, the nuke-nin just grinned at the masked assailant. "Looks like someone's finally got the guts to face me." The man grinned toothily. "Let's see if you can beat me!" The nuke-nin cried, starting towards Kei.

Kei didn't bat an eye; doing the hand seals, he silently said "Kanashibari no Jutsu." The nuke-nin froze in place, not being able to move. The villagers, seeing the enemy unable to move, looked towards the source who had done this.

Ignoring the stares of the villagers, Kei did the hand seals that would put an end to the assailant. "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" The villagers took a step back as the stream of fire came out of Kei's mouth. The flame hit the nuke-nin dead on in the chest, causing him to fly backwards. He landed on his back, completely unconscious.

There was silence among the crowd; but that soon changed into cheers as they realized what had happened.

It went on until the Anbu appeared. "What happened? An Anbu, who had a a single red line going down either side of his face. The villagers pointed to the unconscious nuke-nin's body. The second Anbu, who had a mask which had black slants on the eyes, went to collect the nuke-nin. The first Anbu noticed Kei among the crowd. "Who are you?" He asked.

The crowd turned towards Kei. "Black." Kei replied, curtly. There was silence once more, as what seemed to the villagers a staring competition between the two masked shinobi.

'Now would be a good time to tell them you want an audience with the Hokage, and make sure you get the flute.' Naruto instructed.

Kei nodded to Naruto, and was about to relay the information, when the arrival of another shinobi came to attention.

"What's going on here?" A cold voice asked. Kei turned to see a boy around Naruto's age with pale skin, jet balck hair and eyes.

'Uh-oh,' Naruto said. 'What an unpleasant surprise.'

'Who is it?' Kei asked.

'Uchiha Sasuke.'

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Kanashibari no Jutsu: Causes an opponent to loose their sense of movement. Stops the opponent, leaving an opening for more powerful jutsu to be performed.

Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu: A jutsu that sends a stream of fire towards the opponent, originating from the users mouth.

Did you like it? Criticism is welcome. Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Sasuke stared at the masked man in front of him. "Who are you?" He asked, his voice cold, making some of the villagers flinch.

'I suggest you get away from here,' Naruto told Kei, who was looking at Sasuke. 'Not someone who you want to get involved with.'

'Why?' Kei asked. Sasuke didn't look like a threat. 'He doesn't look that strong.'

'That's not the problem.' Naruto began to explain. 'You see, Sasuke here is the only survivor of the Uchiha Massacre. The council treats him lik he's royalty.'

'I see,' Kei replied.

'Plus, he's got this giant stick up his ass, and he doesn't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon.' Naruto added. 'I suggest you leave the scroll we worked on in the forest and shunshin away before he can ask you anything else.' Kei nodded mentally to Naruto, and shunshined away, leaving the scroll in his place.

To say the least, Sasuke wasn't pleased. The masked ninja just shunshined away, leaving a scroll for the Hokage in his place. He picked up up the scroll and gave orders to the ANBU. "Take care of this. I'm going to give this to the Hokage."

The ANBU nodded, and began teh rpocess of calming everyone down. Sasuke headed towaards teh Hokage's office, trying to figure out the masked ninja.

By the time Sasuke had arrived at the Hokage tower, he hadn't really found out anything else. He requested a meeting with the Hokage, which was granted almost immediately. He walked up to her office and knocked.

"Enter." The Hokage's voice said.

Sasuke walked into the room and up to Tsunade, placing the scroll on her desk.

"What is this?" She asked.

"Currently," Sasuke began. "There was a disturbance on the main road. ANBU were discharged to take care of it, but when they arrived at the scene, the cause of the disturbance was unconscious and tied up, and there was a masked man, who I assume to be a ninja, standing there with the villagers around him.

"The vilagers reported to the ANBU that the masked ninja had taken care of the problem, but when asked his identity, remained silent. I asked him when I arrived, and he shunshined away, covering his chakra, and leaving this scroll for the Hokage." He motioned to the scroll.

"I see." Tsunade said. She picked up the scroll and opened. Sasuke also looked at the scroll, reading its contents. The two were surprised to when they began to read.

Hokage-Sama,

I am known as Black. I am willing to serve you as a ninja in this village. You can reach me anytime with this flute by playing the first, third, and fourth key. It's in the seal at the bottom of

the scroll.

Black.

Tsunade looked at the seal at the bottom of the scroll and unsealed it. Upon doing so, an intricately carved flute came out, sanded until the wood was smooth.

"What are you going to do about it?" Sasuke asked. He didn't trust the letter, and wasn't sure aobut it.

"For now," Tsunade replied, holding up the flute. "We'll assume he will come when summoned. But for now, we'll leave this matter alone." Tsunade opened a drawer in her desk and put the scroll and flute in it. She then put a seal on it, which Sasuke was unfamiliar with.

Tsunade looked at Sasuke. "Is there anything you know about him?" She asked.

There isn't much we know about him, except for the information the villagers gave us." Sasuke said. "Its said that he can do jounin level or higeher jutsus, one namely being shunshin, seeing it for myself."

"I see," Tsunade replied once Sasuke was done. 'I wonder if this has anything to do with Naruto. There was something different about him when he reported to me today. "what physical information could you get on him?" She asked.

"He had black hair," Sasuke stated. "He had pale skin, but was toned. His clothes were also black. My guess would be that he can take on an ANBU."

Tsunade raised her eyebrow at this. The Uchiha rarely gave his opinions about others, and when he did, they weren't necessarily...complimentary. Tsunade nodded.

"Very well. You're dismissed." Tsunade said. Sasuke gave a nod, adn left the room. 'I'll make sure to test him soon enough...' Tsunade thought to herslef before going back to the piles of paperwork she knew she couldn't get out of with a sigh.  
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'That was rather unexpected.' Naruto stated as Kei came to a stop in an unknown area of town. 'Where are we, anyway?' Naruto wondered. He began to walk up the street, looking around. He could tell that this was a part of the village where the more powerful ninja may have lived. As far as he could see, there weren't many people around, and there weren't as many houses as there were in the residential area, giving Naruto the notion that the houses were large. Naruto chose then to switch back to his form. He and Kei did the transformation jutsu, and Naruto now had access to his body once more. He stretched his limbs before moving on.

Looking to his right, Naruto saw a gate with an interesting seal on it. Now, being interested in fuuinjutsu, thanks to Ero-Sennin, he decided to have a look at the gate. He walked up to the gate and looked at the seal. It was a complex seal by the looks of it, and was apparently a blood seal. He mused over the various reasons that the owner would have for sealing the gates with a blood seal, and who would be talented to make one of this level.

Looking past the blood sealIt was a fairly large house, though not as big as the others along the street. It was painted sky blue, giving a friendly atmosphere to it. There were windows, paned with flowers, which if alive (they weren't) would have looked very nice with The front yard was pretty good-sized, and he could only guess how big the backyard was.

'This looks pretty cool, doesn't it, Kyuu, Kei?' Naruto asked his two tenants thoughtfully.

'This is the Yondaime's house, kit,' Kyuu stated, shocking Naruto.

'Ehh! The Yondaime's house?' Naruto asked, eyes going big. Kyuu nodded mentally. 'Yes, this is. The seal is one if his own creations. He was very talented at fuuinjutsu,just like you are.'

'Hmm,' Naruto murmured to himself. 'I wonder what will happen if I try to put my blood into the seal...' Naruto bit his finger until some of his bloodshowed. He put it up to the seal, and got an immediate reaction. The gates creaked, and opened for the owner of the blood. Naruto's eyes were filled with shock.

He walked in, and as soon as he was past the gates, they closed behind him. 'How strange,' Naruto murmured. 'Kyuu,' He asked his demon fox tenant. 'Am I related to the Yondaime in any way?' Kyuu remianed silent, not saying anything.

Naruto frowned, but still walked towards the front house. He came to thr front door, and there was another blood seal. Naruto bit his finger again, Kyuu's chakra already healing the small bite, and held up his blood to the door. Like with the gate, the door opened for Naruto.

Naruto, not as shocked as before, entered the house, and wasn't surprised when it closed behind him. 'It feels familiar somehow...' Naruto thouht to himself. He looked around; there was a staircase, slighty winding, and going up to what Naruto thought to be the second floor. He saw a table with a couple of pictures on it. He walked over to the table and picked one of the pictures up. It held a picture of a woman wiht bright red hair, pale skin, and green eyes, being held by a man, with spiky blond hair, tan skin, and clue eyes.

Now, Naruto wasn't stupid; he could put two and tow together. In other words, this was a picture of his mother and father. In other words, his father was the Yondaime, the fourth Hokage of the village.

Naruto just stared at the picture. 'Kyuu, is this true?' Naruto asked. He knew Kyuu knew what he meant.

'Yes.' Kyuu replied, surprisingly reluctant. 'He was your father, a man respected and feared by all. The man who sealed me in here fourteen and a half years ago.'

'Kyuu' Naruto said to his fox tenant. He wanted to apologize, but he couldn't find the words for some reason.

'Its alright,' Kyuu told him. 'I got over the fact long ago, so there's no reason for you to apologize. Besides being in a mortal's body is amusing.' Kyuu chuckled.

Naruto ignored Kyuu's taunting and decided to go upstairs. He might as well explore the place; after all, since this was his parents' house, he had every right to move in there. There was a hallway, which had two doors on the left, and one on the rihgt. Naruto looked at the ones on the left first.

The first one was a bedroom painted red and orange. There was a large bed in the middle of the black wall, and off to the right of that, was a desk, and a few drawers. There was a closet opposite the bed, where he assumed his parents clothes were. There were pictures of the two of them, hanging on the walls. Some were individual pictures, others were of them together. There were even a few where his mom's stomach was large. 'Must have been taken when she was pregnant with me...' Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto walked out ofhis parents' room; he'd have time to look through the room again later. He walked over to the second door on the left and turned the knob. His eyes got big when he opened it. Inside, the walls were painted yellow, orange and blue, and there was a un-used crib in the corner. Not far from the crib, there was a large bed with blue blankets, along with yellow and orange pillows.

Naruto smiled, knowing that his parents had made this room just for him. 'Ne, what do you think, Kei?' He asked the other tenant in his body. He hadn't heard much from his since the incident earlier that day.

'I think your parents designed this room with you in mind.' Kei replied, within Naruto's mind. 'They probably left you with a lot of other things, too. There's bound to be a training room somewhere in the house.'

Naruto considered this. 'Hmm, maybe you're right.' He exited the room and looked at the other door. 'Well, the training room can wait for a little bit...' He mused, more to himself than to Kei. He walked over to the remaining door and opened it.

Inside was an office. There was a large, oak desk in the middle of the room with a nice black recliner chair. There were shelves filled with books and scrolls. He grabbed a few of the scrolls and read them. One of them, the Rasengan, he already knew. The other scroll, though, was for the Hiraishin, which made his father known as "The Yellow Flash." He put the two scrolls away on the shelf before approaching the desk.

'This must have been his office,' Naruto thought, sitting in the black recliner chair. He strangely felt at peace here, and he could only guess why. Naruto swiveled the chair around to find a window directly behind him, and it came with a great view of the backyard, and the sunset.

Sighing, Naruto got back up. He needed to head back home. 'I can always move in here tomorrow,' He thought to his two tenants, and to himself. 'I can put all of my things into a scroll and bring them with me.' Deciding he would do that, Naruto walked back down the stairs, adn to the front door. He turned to look at the rest of the house, which he hadn' gotten to explore yet. He sighed again.

Naruto left the house. When he closed the door behind him, he hard a click, knowing thawt most people couldn't have heard that. He waled a few steps away from the door and shunshined away, leaving the house behind.

A few seconds later though, two ANBU appeared at the gate. "There's nobody here," One ANBU stated, wearing a cat mask. "Though I can feel the chaka signature. He must have been suppressing it; it seemed quite powerful."

"Yes, I agree with you." The leader of the two, who was wearing a raven mask, agreed. "We shall report this to Hokage-sama ot once." With a quick nod of their heads, which, if you weren't a trained ninja, wouldn't have been able to pick up, the two shunshined away.  
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What do you think? Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I sitll don't own anything. (6/06/10- to date)

Author's Note: Glad I finally got this out. Since I sadly have no one to nag me about the chapters, it doesn't get out as quick as it should. Oh well. Anyway, my offer for a beta is still open, and I really hope that someone will. I'm starting to notice these, and they're bad. Ignore my rambling. Happy reading.  
_

The next day, when Naruto awakened, he just layed there on his bed, thinking about what had happened. He had found his Father and Mother's house. It was a lot for him to take in.

He sighed. 'Well,' he thought to himself. 'At least I have a better home to go to than this one.' Naruto looked around at his abused apartment; over the years the civilians had been ruthless, destroying lots of his possessions. It was lucky that he had become a seal master at such a young age; he was able to put seals up around his house, preventing the civilians and shinobi from getting in. He was also able to seal the more important things he owned in scrolls to hide away.

Naruto sighed again, knowing that just laying there wouldn't help him at all. Sitting up, he decided to ask Kei and Kyuu what to do. Going into his mind-scape, he appeared in a forest-like place, with large trees. Kyuu had taught him how to change the mindscape into something other than the dreary hallway and cage.

Walking towards the largest and oldest tree in his mindscape, Naurto saw that the two he was looking for were sitting at the root of the tree, Kei on top of Kyuubi's head, reading a book, while Kyuubi himself was sleeping.

"Hello!" Naruto sent a friendly greeting to the two. Kei looked up from his book and smiled at Naruto. Kyuubi opened his eyes, looking a tad bit disgruntled.

"Hello Naruto, what brings you here?" Kei asked. Naruto climbed Kyuubi so he was sitting where Kei was. Making himself comfortable, he decided to approach the subject he had in mind.

"It's about what happened yesterday." Naruto started, looking out over the forest; it was serene, and he could think there.

"I see," Kei said, nodding his head. Kyuu just breathed out, and Naruto took that as a sign.

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "It's kinda hard to take in; they left me here alone, though they had good reasons. I just don't know what to think right now." He sighed, leaning back so that his back was against the tree.

"It's understandable that you're overwhelmed as well as confused about this," Kei agreed. "Finding out about your parents after living most of your life not knowing them can be very stressful." Kei looked at Naruto, a look if wisdom in his ancient eyes.

"Though it seems foolish sounding, my best advice would do what your heart tells you and do what feels right." Kei summarized what he was thinking, giving Naruto a half-smile.

Kyuubi grunted his agreement. "He's right; you have every right to that house. No one has the right to take away what legally and rightfully belongs to you."

Naruto smiled his thanks to the two and turned his gaze back towards the forest. It's vastness let Naruto think about his thoughts, deciding on what he should do. Obviously, he wanted to move into his parents' home, but he was reluctant. With the way the villagers treated him, as well as the civilian council's treatment towards him, it was not likely they would take him moving in well. Naruto let out an inward sigh; whether they liked it or not, he was going to move into the house, and he was going to prove that they couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Satisfied that he came up with an answer that he could agree with, Naruto jumped off of Kyuubi's head and walked a few feet before turning back to face his two friendly tenants. "Thanks, I think I know what I'll do now." Naruto told them with a smile.

The two nodded, acknowledging his thanks. With that, Naruto started walking away from the two, slowly disappearing as he did so.  
_

Waking up from his mindscape, Naruto's confused and doubtful eyes were changed to ones that were determined and ready to face anything that came his way.

Getting out of bed, Naruto stretched, getting out all of the kinks from when he wa asleep. He grabbed a bite to eat, and then took a quick shower, waking himself up. Stepping out, he surveyed what he had to wear; over the years, he had slowly changed his wardrobe, losing his love for orange clothing. Sure, orange was still his favorite color, but when it came to clothes, he preferred different colors.

He thought about how he had really changed over time. He had decided that today he would wear a black sleeveless t-shirt, standard black ANBU pants with black tape around his ankles,a black jacket, though it was light,as well as his black ninja sandals, black fingerless gloves, and his hitai-ate on around neck. Naruto had switched to wearing it around his neck, preferring it be there rather than his forehead so he would be able to hide his eyes. He had learned that having your emotions shown clearly in your eyes was a disadvvantage. So, by covering his eyes with his now long, uncontrollable blond hair, he cancelled that disadvantage out.

Finished with his usual morning routine when not on missions, (though that rarely happened) Naruto decided what he'd do for the day. Obviously he was going to move his parents' haouse, but that wouldn't take long, considering the fact that he had the use of his Kage Bunshins, and that he really didn't have much that he didn't take with him wherever he went. Making two Kage Bunshins, he ordered them to move all his stuff to his parents' house, and explained briefly on how to get in.

Nodding their understanding, the two clones began taking out blank scrolls and sealing thins in them. Turning his attention away from the two, Naruto decided that he would do some kenjutsu training with his kodachi. Naruto grabbed his kunai pouches with all his smaller weapons and scrolls and was about to head out his door when he remembered something. He slapped his head at forgetting again, going back to get it.

He was lucky that his clones had kept his jounin vest out. He pulled it on and made for the door again. He sighed, berating himself for forgetting again. Naruto had been promoted to Jounin a while back, and he kept getting into trouble for not wearing his vest.

Not that Naruto minded wearing the vest; he was pleased that he passed the Jounin exam and was proud that he did so. But, being so busy all the time, he forgot to wear it, thus getting scolded.

Naruto turned on the seals guarding his house, being able to do it with only the ram sign. It was a seal he had created himself, and he was sure that his father, being a fuuinjutsu master himself, would have been proud. The seal was a complex one, and only Jiraya and himself knew how it worked.

The seal, once being activated, locked everything down, making it impossible to break into without being a well-trained shinobi. And if someone did manage to break through any of the windows or the door, the seal would send a dart with a poison in it, knocking the person out. There were plenty of hidden traps in his seal, and he took pride in it. Jiraya had even complimented it saying that it was an amazing seal, one that may have surpassed the Yondaime's seals.

Naruto headed into the village, taking a leisurely pace. The attitude of the villagers had changed, and rather than glaring at him, they sent friendly looks, and some even greeted him. Granted, there were still some that hated him, but it was a drastic change from before, and Naruto was glad for it. He wasn't exactly sure why they had changed, but as long as they were this friendly to him, he wouldn't mind.

Heading towards the training grounds, Naruto passed by Ichiraku's and saw Sakura outside of it.

"Hi, Sakura-chan," Naruto called out to her with a smile. Sakura turned when she heard her name called, and smiled when she saw Naruto.

"Naruto, back from your mission already?" She asked.

"Yeah, I got back yesterday, actually." Naruto replied, relaying some of the events of the mission to her. As the two walked through the town, Naruto filled her in on some of the things he did over the mission, and she listened, asking questions here and there.

Surprisingly, when Naruto had brought Sasuke back to the village, Tsunade had kept Team 7 together. Even though they were all Jounin's right now, the Hokage for some reason kept the team together. Naruto, on several occassions, had wondered why she did this. He remembered when she had explained it to him.

~Flashback~

Naruto walked into the Hokage's office, coming back from a mission with Team Seven. He was giving the report, being the leader of the team. When he had finished giving the report, Tsunade had asked, "Is there anything else, Naruto?"

Naruto thought, and then he remembered a subject that he had been wondering about fro a while. "Ne, obaa-chan." He asked, ignoring the look of slight irritation on her face. "Why did you decide to keep Team 7 together? It's the only one still running from the rookie nine; all the others have new genin on them."

"Hmm..." Was Tsunade's reply. She considered this information; this was important information, and went deeper into the past of Konoha than most suspected.

"I'll tell you," She said. "But on one condition." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Drop the mask."

To say Naruto was surprised was almost an understatement. He hadn't seen this coming. "My mask?" He asked. Tsunade nodded firmly. Naruto sighed. This was something that had been bugging him for a while now, and he really wanted to know. It wouldn't be too bad to drop his mask, right?

"Fine," Naruto replied in resignation. Tsunade smirked, though Naruto didn't catch it, as he was caught up in his own thoughts.

"Team 7 is... different," Tsunade began, choosing her words carefully. "As I have studied, along with the Hokages before me, we noticed a pattern with Team 7. You see, the ninja chosen for Team 7, though different from their teammates in many aspects, built a strong team.

"The Hokages began to notice that this was no coincidence, either. Every time there was a new Team 7, though it took a little longer than others, they produced powerful shinobi. Take my team as an example; we were Team 7 a while back. And look where we are now; the three of us are Sannin, and we each are strong.

Another example would be Kakashi; he came from a more recent Team 7. Although his teammates have died, he's still alive, and he's respected among the shinobi here and feared by others." Tsunade paused in her explanation, letting what she had said sink in for Naruto.

Naruto found this interesting, as well as amusing. 'That's interesting, isn't it? Who new Kakashi used to be on Team 7...' He mused to himself before nodding for Tsunade to continue.

"Now, take your team into consideration Naruto. You each are strong by your own rights. And did you ever consider that all three of you were trained by the Sannin, or did that slip your mind there gaki?" Tsunade asked. Naruto slightly pouted, knowing that she was making fun of him, but she took in what she had to say. Now that he did think about it, he Sakura and Sasuke were praised on their strengths a lot. Everything clicked in for him as he processed the new information. This would certainly give him something to think about.

"Thanks, Baa-chan," Naruto smiled at her. Tsunade smiled back.

"Your welcome. But remember out deal." Tsunade became serious. "If I find out that your mask is still up, there's going to be Hell to pay. Got it?" She asked.

Naruto nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama." He replied.

Tsunade smiled again. "Good. You're dismissed." And with that, Naruto had shunshined away.

~End Flashback~

That had been when the three of them were all Chuunin, a few days before his team had found out that they would be participating in the Jounin Exams as a team. Naruto smiled at the memory. The reactions of his village had been interesting, if not amusing. Some were shocked, and watched Naruto with fear in their eyes; others, though shocked, took it normally and treated him with more respect. Then there were the ones who noticed but didn't care.

He broke out of his reverie when he arrived at the training grounds of Team 7. "Well then, I'm going to do some light training." He told Sakura before heading in. Sakura followed him.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Sakura asked him, thought he wasn't surprised. She had been asking for his help in certain areas for a while now. He was used to it.

"Sure," He replied, smiling at her. "What do you need help in?" He asked.

"Well..." She began. "I'm struggling a bit with this new taijutsu that Shishou wants me to learn." Naruto nodded at this information. His baa-chan probably found a taijutsu that Sakura could use for her since she was a med-nin.

"Alright then," He said, stopping in the middle of the training grounds. "Show me the steps," But then he added, "But do it slowly so I can get a feel for it."

Sakura nodded before getting into the first stance. Naurto watched as she went from one stance to the next. He noticed a couple of errors, which were probably the reason she was asking for his help. When she stopped, she turned towards him, waiting for the criticism he was to say.

"It's not tha bad, really," He began. "But one of the reasons you're having trouble with it is because, while the taijutsu in fluid like water, you're a bit too firm, making it harder for you to do it." He explained, looking at Sakura, who nodded.

"What you need to do is relax your muscles, don't make them tense. This will help you with the taijutsu itself." When he had finished, he got into the taijutsu stance and told Sakura to do the same. Then he went over the moves with her, all the while making the moves fluid. Soon Sakura was able to do it pretty well, although she had a few minor problems with it.

"If you keep doing it like that, you'll be able to get it down soon. I suggest that you practice this every day, that way you will get more of a feel for it, and that will knock down the mistakes that you unintentionally make." Naruto said to her.

"Thanks Naruto, I'll do just as you say." Sakura replied, smiling brightly. "Do you mind if I watch you train a little? I usually don't get to see you use kenjutsu much." Naruto answered Sakura's question with a nod, and she sat down, her back leaning against a tree.

When Sakura had looked back towards Naruto, he already had his sword out. Though it seemed to be a rusted kodachi, Sakura knew better. Naruto had put on a genjutsu, keeping it's true form hidden. But Sakura had seen it a few times, and she knew it was an incredible kodachi.

The kodachi was a two edged blade. One blade was white, the other black. Though she wasn't sure what the abilities of the kodachi were, she was sure about a few things. One of them being that the white edge of the kodachi was lethal if you were slashed by it in a fight. It absorbed the chakra of whatever it slashed, draining the person, animal, or thing. She also knew that the kodachi wasn't chosen by someone to be wielded, but the kodachi itself chose who wielded it. And it had chosen Naruto, who used it with a skill that the whole village hadn't know she could do.

As she watched Naruto swing the sword in some style of kenjutsu, she remembered the time when she, along with the other shinobi of the village, had found out about Naruto's kodachi.

~Flashback~

It had been a normal day in the village; the genin were doing their D-rank missions, complaining about Tora, the missing cat. Those who had seen who her owner was had only felt pity for the cat. The Daimyo's wife smothered the poor cat, and they could see why Tora ran awayso often.

Sakura was in her Shishou's office. She watched as she sighed. She too, had had to catch the cat, and she could hear the genin mumble about catching her. She knew her Shishou was starting to get a headache, and she wasn't surprised when she saw the bottle of sake come out. She couldn't stop her Shishou from drinking it. Sakura listened as her teacher gave a content sigh.

That was when the rookie nine, plus Team Gai, had come into the office. Sakura stole a quick glance at her Shishou, and chuckled silently to herself. The look on her face was quite funny, but she knew that if she laughed out loud, she'd be in trouble.

Sakura focused her attention on the other shinobi in the room. They were talking about weapons, though she was clueless as to why they were on their current subject.

"what do you want?" Tsunade asked, only taking slight interst in their conversation.

Naruto looked at her with a smile. "Oh, we wanted to know about the double-edged kodachi that was lost during the first Shinobi War.'

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at this, becoming more interested. "And why would you want to know about this, gaki?" She asked.

"Well, I have this kodachi that I found in my apartment a while ago," Nartuo ignored the glares that were sent his way, the more intense one coming from Tenten. "And when we were talking about weapons at the barbecue restaurant, I told them that I had this cool double-edged kodachi, though they didn't beieve me. So when I took it out, they said it was a cheap imitation of it."

"Well, where is it Naruto?" Tusnade asked. If this was indeed the missing Kodachi the Shodaime had used in the first Shinobi War, it would become a great asset to the village, making their enemies think twice about attacking it.

"Hold on," Naruto said, grabbing the kodachi from his waist as if he had had it for years. He pulled the kodachi out of it's sheath and held it up to expectant eyes. Tsunade's eyes had widened.

"Let me see it," She commanded Naruto as the Hokage, not his baa-chan. Naruto nodded, though a bit reluctant, and let her see the kodachi. Tsunade examined it, before she sighed, handing it back to Naruto.

"You do realize the reason they think it's a piece of junk is becasue of the genjutsu you placed on it right?" She asked. To say the shinobi in the room were surprised may have been an understatement. They all knew that Naruto was terrible at genjutsu.

Realization came to Naruto's face as he released the genjutsu with a simple "Kai."

The genjutsu was released, and everyone was amazed at what they saw before them. In Naurto's hands, a double-edged kodachi lay. It had one edge that was black, the other being white. The kodachi itself was around three feet long.

"Wow..." Tenten said with awe in her voice.

"Yes," Tsunade said. "This indeed is the missing kodachi from the first Shinobi War. It's amazing that you found it, and even more so that it chose you, Naruto." Tsunade said to Naruto, gaining confused looks from teh other shinobi in the room.

"What do you mean by that, Hokage-sama?" Neji, who had remained silent, now asked.

"The kodachi is a rare weapon. It is an extrordinary weapon, being able to absorb chakra from a living being if they are slashed with it." The eyes of the shinobi went wide as they looked at the kodachi. "The kodachi itself, though, chooses who wields it. Not many have been chosen."

"But Shishou," Sakura asked. "How can you tell if you've been chosen to wield the kodachi?" She asked.

"When the kodachi chooses you," Naruto cut in. "Is...How to say...when it opens up to you, I guess. Let's just say, that if it chooses you, there's a way the kodachi itself will tell you." Naruto finished. He looked somewhat satisfied with how he explained it.

"Hn." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. "The dobe actually got himself a pretty good weapon, huh?" Sasuke smirked slightly, knowing that calling Naruto a dobe irritated him.

"Yes, I did, teme." Naruto replied, though he ignored the hidden jab that was in there. Sometimes it was best to just ignore him. That way he'd back off, at least, that's what Naruto thought.

"You'd do best to take care of that, Naruto," Tsunade told him. "That is a powerful weapon many would kill to have. Literally." Her voice was serious, and Naruto gave a firm nod.

"It's your choice to let others know you have the kodachi or not." Tsunade continued. "Now, if that was the only reason you came here, you can leave." Tsunade said, making them all know that she wanted to be left alone. The shinobi complied, leaving the room to do whatever they would do. Sakura bowed to her Shishou, indicating that she would take her leave for the time being. Tsunade nodded, and Sakura left. Naruto saluted Tsunade as he left, being the last one. Tsunade rolled her eyes, but smiled as well.

~Flashback End~

That was about a year ago, and Naruto had said he had found it before that, holding the knowledge of it's existence from everyone for who knows how long. Sakura smiled again, looking at her teammate. He was being swarmed by his shadow bunshins, and he was, by the looks of it, becoming overpowered.

Sakura looked up at the sky, and got up. "Naruto," She called. Naruto and all of his clones stopped, waiting for her to continue. "I need to get back to Shishou. I'll see you later." Sakura waved and left the training grounds, travelling over the red bridge that connected to the village.

Naruto decided this would be a good time as any to stop for the day. He dispersed his clones and stretched out his kinks. When he got back to his parents- now his house, actually- he would take a long soak and go to bed.

Turning toleave, Naruto heard clicking on the trees as it resonated through teh training area. Naruto sighed. 'Looks like I won't be getting that bath tonight after all,' He thought to himself. Taking out a scroll, Naruto unsealed it. He took out a blue sleeveless t-shirt, and a mask. Naruto, with speed, changed out of his black t-shirt and into the blue one. He strapped his kodachi over his back, and placed his mask on.

He shunshined out of the clearing and into the Hokage's office. Tsunade, who was waiting for him, smirked slightly at him. Once the hyperactive ninja, an enigma to most, was now, one if her strongest captains.

Tsunade tossed him a scroll. He unrolled it and went over the contents. He looked at his Hokage, waiting for further instructions.

"Leave as soon as you can. This is of upmost importancy, and I trust that you will not fail me. This will keep our relations with Kumo good. Now go, Kitsune." Tsunade ordered her ANBU captain. The fox masked man nodded, and with a slight bow, disappeared..  
_

Bet you didn't see that coming, huh? It took me longer than usual to crank this out, as I said before. I had to redo the first flashback three times before I was satisfied enough to leave it alone, although I still think I messed up some information. If I did get anything wrong, though, please tell me, and I'll change it. PLease review!


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